University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
11-1-0, 9-1-0-0
Minnesota State
2-9-1, 0-9-1-0
Gophers Cruise Past Mavericks, 8-1
11/6/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Hockey
MINNEAPOLIS - The No. 2 Golden Gophers erupted for a six-goal second period en route to an 8-1 win and WCHA series sweep over visiting Minnesota State at Ridder Arena Sunday afternoon.
Minnesota (11-1-0, 9-1-0-0 WCHA) received two goals apiece from Kelly Pannek (2g-3a), Dani Cameranesi (2g-2a), and Nicole Schammel (2g), and Sarah Potomak (1g-3a) also recorded multiple points for the Maroon & Gold.
Minnesota State (2-9-1, 0-9-1-0 WCHA) was led by Katie Bidulka's 20 saves over the first two periods, and Amanda Conway scored the Mavericks' lone goal. Chloe Crosby made 12 saves on 14 shots in the third period for MSU as well.
Sidney Peters and Serena D'Angelo split time in net for the Gophers as Peters made eight saves on nine shots in the opening 46 minutes before D'Angelo finished the game and registered five saves. Minnesota outshot the Mavericks, 40-14.
"That was a great second period there to score six, and to blow that thing open was huge," head coach Brad Frost said. "That first goal was waved off; I thought our team responded well. We got scored on to tie it up, and we answered right back and were able to keep the foot on the gas. The first line again, they're playing at a whole different level. It was great to see secondary scoring again tonight with Schammel and Williamson. We need that as we go forward."
The teams were scoreless after one period despite Minnesota holding an 11-4 edge in shots on goal. It looked like the Gophers got on the board first when Sydney Baldwin snuck one past Bidulka on a shorthanded opportunity, but the goal was waived off.
Nevertheless, Minnesota still scored first, taking a 1-0 on Potomak's 10th goal of the season at 4:18 of the second period. The Mavericks responded with their lone goal less than two minutes later when Conway flipped a puck past Peters at the 6:15 mark of the middle frame.
"I thought in the first period, the puck was just bouncing for everyone," Pannek said. "It was hard to get a rhythm. Then in the second, it kind of settled down a little bit and bounced in our favor a little more."
With the score tied at 1-1, the Gophers responded with seven unanswered goals, including five over a 6:05 period of the middle frame. Pannek scored back-to-back goals with a shorthanded goal followed by a power-play tally before Cameranesi put away her own back-to-back goals at 12:39 and 16:41. Schammel then netted her second of the weekend at 18:07 to give the Gophers a 6-1 lead after two periods.
"I think we just had a little different mentality and a little more intensity that period," Cameranesi said of the second period. "I think they really stuck with us in the first, and in between periods we came in and talked little bit and decided to raise our compete level and got a little chip on our shoulder when that goal [Baldwin's] didn't count. I think that was probably the game changer at that point."
The third period saw Schammel score her second-straight goal midway through the period before Taylor Williamson sealed the seven-goal victory with her second goal of the season at the 16:27 mark.
The line of Cameranesi, Pannek, and Potomak combined for five goals, recording 13 points in the win. They registered 19 total points in the series after Cameranesi scored a natural hat trick and Pannek had three assists in Friday's 5-0 win.
"They read off each other so well and are playing with a ton of confidence right now," Frost said of the line. "It seems like everything they're putting to the net is going in. Even when they're fanning on it, it still finds its way to the back of the net, so they're playing with a lot of confidence and they deserve it. Hopefully they can sustain being a really good first line the whole year. They're at a pretty high level right now."
"I think we're getting a lot of good bounces," Pannek said. "I think we all are very determined to get the puck to the net. We like to score, we like to make plays, and it's worked out really well so far, just reading each other and competing together. One thing we talk about is staying connected and not separating each other. I think the three of us against three players on any team down low is going to be a really good outcome. The more we do that, the better it seems to work out."
Minnesota was 1-for-3 on the power play while holding Minnesota State scoreless on three power-play opportunities and scoring the team's second shorthanded goal of the year.
The Gophers are off next weekend in preparation for the final four weeks of the first half of the season, beginning with a road trip to Grand Forks, N.D., and a meeting with WCHA foe North Dakota.
"We're really looking forward to a good week of practice," Frost said. "Having a weekend off, our team feels real good about where we're at, at the end of the first half of the first half. We know we have eight really tough games as we come back. We're going to enjoy the start that we've had, and try and relax for a little bit before we gear up for North Dakota in a couple of weeks."
The Gophers and Fighting Hawks meet at Ralph Engelstad Arena at 7 p.m. CT Friday, Nov. 18 and 4 p.m. CT Saturday, Nov. 19.
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